Lent

Sermons for the Season of Lent

A Sermon for the Sixth Sunday in Lent (02/04/23): Jesus Handed Over and Abandoned

Matthew 27:11-26 [The lectionary gives two options for reading on the Sixth Sunday in Lent / Palm Sunday. We can read about Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem from Matthew 21:1-11. You can a sermon on that reading here. Or we can read the Passion Narrative from Matthew 26:14-27:66. This sermon reflects on part of that …

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A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent (26/03/23): The Plot to Kill Jesus

John 11:45-53 [The Gospel reading set for the the Fifth Sunday in Lent is John 11:1-44. You can find a sermon base on that reading here. John’s Gospel the event that precipitates the plot that leads to Jesus’ death is the raising of Lazarus. So the verses which follow that story serve as a prelude …

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A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent (19/03/23): Live as Children of Light

Ephesians 5:8-14 The church at Ephesus receives words of encouragement.cThey are told:For once you were in darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light. The problem for us, perhaps, is that Paul addresses a different kind of church than ours. The churches he knew, like the one at Ephesus, …

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A Sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent (12/03/23): Adam and Jesus

Romans 5:9-12 Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. As Paul writes he has two stories in mind. Though he doesn’t actually tell either of them. And those stories have two central characters. Though again Paul doesn’t actually …

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A Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent (05/03/23): We Know and What We Know We Say

John 3:1-17 “We know” says Nicodemus. What does Nicodemus know? He knows a world in which things work in certain ways. We would perhaps call them the laws of nature. We would say that there are the boundaries of the possible. For example; children are born, they grow up, and there is no reversing that …

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A Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent (26/02/23): Freedom and Temptations

Matthew 4:1-11 “Speak of the devil and he shall appear” is what the proverb says. The devil is not, as some of our mythology might have it, a fallen angel. The devil is not, as he would appear when we give him too much credence, an equal and opposite counterpart to God. The devil has …

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A Sermon for Ash Wednesday (22/02/23): Piety is Not a Means to Another End

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Jesus says:Whenever you give alms. . .And whenever you pray. . .And whenever you fast. . .Charitable giving, prayer and fasting, these are three things we might do, or do more of in Lent. And Jesus warns us how not to do them! It is with charitable giving where we might recognise …

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A Sermon for the Sixth Sunday in Lent, Palm Sunday (10/04/22): Jesus is in Command

Luke 19:28-40 As Jesus takes the last few steps of the journey, which began some time ago, to Jerusalem, the crowd grasp what it is that he has being showing them all along. And they strike up the appropriate chant:Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and …

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A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent; Passion Sunday (03/04/22): The Meaning of What She Did

John 12:1-8 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.This is a familiar scene. Time and again Jesus is the honoured guest at …

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A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent (27/03/22): Offensive Grace

Luke 15:11-32 The other day I heard a talk by someone. And one of the things they said was: “If your preaching of grace isn’t giving offence, then you’re not preaching grace hard enough” Grace: the idea of God’s free, unconditional love for everyone, God’s welcome for absolutely anyone who will turn to him, Grace: …

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